Kumar Rajesh, Chambers Edgar, Chambers Delores H, Lee Jeehyun
Center for Sensory Analysis and Consumer Behavior, Kansas State University, 1310 Research Park Dr., Ice Hall, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA.
Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Korea.
Foods. 2021 Feb 22;10(2):474. doi: 10.3390/foods10020474.
Food companies spend a large amount of money and time to explore markets and consumer trends for ideation. Finding new opportunities in food product development is a challenging assignment. The majority of new products launched in the market are either copies of existing concepts or line extensions. This study demonstrates how the global marketplace can be used for generating new texture concepts for snack foods. One hundred and twenty-three prepacked snack foods from South Korea (SK) and ninety-five from Japan (JP) were purchased for this study. Projective mapping (PM) was used to sort the snacks on a 2-dimensional map (texture and flavor). Sensory scientists grouped snacks on similarities and dissimilarities. PM results showed, 65% (JP) and 76% (SK) snacks were considered as hard textures, ranging from moderate to extremely hard. Sixty-five percent of JP snacks were savory, whereas 59% of SK snacks had a sweet flavor. The PM 2-dimensional map was used to find white spaces in the marketplace. Thirty-two diversified snacks from each country were screened and profiled using descriptive sensory analysis by trained panelists. Attributes such as sustained fracturability, sustained crispness, initial crispness, and fracturability were the main sensory texture characteristics of snacks. Results showed how descriptive analysis results can be used as initial sensory specifications to develop prototypes. Prototype refinement can be performed by doing multiple developmental iterations and consumer testing. The study showed how white spaces are potential opportunities where new products can be positioned to capture market space. Practical Application: The methodology produced in this study can be used by food product developers to explore new opportunities in the global marketplace.
食品公司花费大量资金和时间来探索市场和消费者趋势以进行创意构思。在食品产品开发中寻找新机会是一项具有挑战性的任务。市场上推出的大多数新产品要么是现有概念的复制品，要么是产品线扩展。本研究展示了如何利用全球市场为休闲食品生成新的质地概念。为此项研究购买了123种来自韩国（SK）的预包装休闲食品和95种来自日本（JP）的预包装休闲食品。使用投射映射（PM）将这些零食在二维地图（质地和风味）上进行分类。感官科学家根据零食的异同将它们分组。PM结果显示，65%（JP）和76%（SK）的零食被认为质地较硬，从适中到极其坚硬。65%的JP零食是咸味的，而59%的SK零食有甜味。利用PM二维地图在市场中寻找空白区域。由经过培训的小组成员通过描述性感官分析对每个国家的32种多样化零食进行筛选和描述。诸如持续易碎性、持续酥脆性、初始酥脆性和易碎性等属性是零食的主要感官质地特征。结果表明描述性分析结果如何可以用作开发原型的初始感官规格。可以通过进行多次开发迭代和消费者测试来完善原型。该研究表明空白区域是潜在的机会，可以在其中定位新产品以占据市场空间。实际应用：本研究中产生的方法可被食品产品开发人员用于探索全球市场中的新机会。
